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Just how important is tonight's doubleheader at Jamestown for the struggling Oneonta Tigers?

In the midst of a season-high five-game losing skid, Oneonta's game at Jamestown was postponed by rain Sunday and the teams will play a doubleheader, beginning at 5:05 p.m. today.

The Tigers (21-27) are in second place in the New York-Penn League's Stedler Division and trail division-leading Lowell (26-24) by four games. Oneonta is also a half-game removed the division basement as Tri-City and Vermont have 21-28 records.

Should Oneonta sweep tonight's doubleheader and Lowell loses at home to Hudson Valley, the Tigers could pull within 2 1/2 games. But they could fall 5 1/2 games behind if they're swept and Lowell wins tonight.

Oneonta, which is ranked 11th in the 14-team NY-Penn League in hitting (.235), home runs (18) and runs (198), will have 24 games remaining after tonight's games.

The Tigers' fifth straight loss came Saturday, a 7-3 loss at Jamestown in which three O-Tigers pitchers combined to allow 17 hits.

Starter and losing pitcher David Stokes (3-4) allowed five home runs over 3 1/3 innings Saturday. In all, Stokes gave up 11 hits and six runs. Aaron Fuhrman relieved Stokes in the fourth inning. He allowed one run on four hits over 3 2/3 innings and Santo Mieses worked around two hits in a scoreless eighth inning.

Oneonta scored once in the first inning, when Brent Wyatt doubled to left and scored on a fielding error by Jamestown shortstop Joel Staples, who mishandled a grounder by Ben Guez.

Jamestown tied it in the bottom of the inning on Miguel Fermin's homer to left.

Back-to-back homers by Paul Gran and Kevin Mattison to start the third inning gave the Jammers a 3-1 lead.

The Tigers pulled within a run in the fourth inning. Guez was hit by a pitch to start the inning and went to second on Brandon Douglas' groundout. Guez scored on Mike Gosse's two-out double to right to make it 3-2.

But Jamestown answered with four runs in the bottom of the inning.

Robert Taylor homered to left to start the inning.

Staples then singled in front of Gran's second homer of the game to make it 6-2. A wild pitch by Fuhrman later in the inning scored Jamestown's final run.

Gosse's first homer of the season _ a drive to right to lead off the seventh inning _ capped the scoring for Oneonta.

Wyatt and Gosse finished with two hits apiece for the Tigers, who had six hits.

MOVES: Oneonta have lost outfielder Chris White, catcher Angel Flores and pitcher Orlando Perdomo to the Single-A West Michigan Whitecaps in recent weeks.

Shortstop Brandon Douglas and outfielders Keith Stein and Hayden Parrott returned to the O-Tigers from West Michigan.

Infielder Josh Workman went from Oneonta to the Gulf Coast League Tigers. Pitcher Santo Mieses was promoted to Oneonta from the GCL.

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A total of eight hits and one run were enough to give the Oneonta Tigers a split of a New York-Penn League doubleheader at Jamestown on Monday as the teams exchanged 1-0 outcomes.

The two runs that scored Monday were both unearned. Jamestown won the first game, 1-0, benefitting from a fielding error by O-Tigers first baseman Billy Nowlin.

Oneonta's 1-0 victory in the second game came courtesy of a throwing error by Jamestown second baseman Lonnie Lechelt in the second inning as the Tigers snapped a season-long six-game skid.

The Tigers (22-28) started the day four games behind Stedler Division-leading Lowell (26-24). Second-place Oneonta is a half-game ahead of Tri-City (22-29) and Vermont (22-29), who are tied for last. Lowell's game Monday against visiting Hudson Valley was not completed by press time.

Oneonta returns home for a three-game series against the Mahoning Valley Scrappers that starts at 7 tonight.

Fielding has been a problem for the O-Tigers over their past seven games. They've made 18 errors in those games, including five Monday.

The one by Nowlin in the first game proved costly.

Konrad Thieme walked with one out in the second inning against losing pitcher Darwin De Leon (3-2). After Felix Martinez's groundout to third baseman Bryan Pounds moved Thieme to second, Jesus Rojas beat out an infield single to third. Pounds threw to first on the play, but Nowlin dropped it and when the ball got away, Thieme scored.

De Leon took the loss despite holding the Jammers to one hit over four innings. He walked six and struck out four. Dan DeLucia pitched two scoreless innings for Oneonta, allowing two hits and striking out two.

The Tigers' best scoring chance came in the seventh inning.

With one out, Nowlin reached second on a fielding error by third baseman Jesus Rojas. Pinch-runner Luis Arlet advanced to third on pinch-hitter Wade Lamont's groundout to second. It marked the only time an Oneonta runner reached third as the Tigers lost by shutout for the fourth time this season.

Jared Yecker then struck out Joe Bowen to end it.

Brandon Douglas and Nowlin had two hits apiece, accounting for all of Oneonta's hits.

In the second game, the O-Tigers were aided by two errors by Lechelt in the second inning.

Carlos Ramirez led off with a single to left against losing pitcher Johnny Dorn. Arlet reached on a fielding error by Lechelt that left runners on first and second.

After Tyler Weber struck out, Eric Harryman grounded to shortstop Paul Gran, who flipped to Lechelt to get Arlet at second. Lechelt then made a wild throw to first, allowing Ramirez to score.

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ONEONTA _ The Oneonta Tigers pounded out 15 hits en route to an 8-2 New York-Penn League victory over the Mahoning Valley Scrappers in front of 1,494 fans Tuesday night at Damaschke Field.

The O-Tigers had more hits Tuesday than they did during their previous three-game series at Jamestown. Oneonta combined for 14 hits in that series and lost two games.

"We're a scary team and (batters) 1 through 9 can flat-out hit," said Oneonta designated hitter Billy Nowlin. "We've been slumping. But we were relaxed. Today was the first time we got to take batting practice in our shorts. Everyone just came out and played to our potential."

Oneonta (23-28), second in the Stedler Division, remained 3 1/2 games behind Lowell as the Spinners (27-25) won at Williamsport, 7-2. Vermont (23-29), which beat visiting Aberdeen, 9-5, is in third, four games back. Tri-City (22-30) lost at home to Batavia, 3-2, and is five games out of first.

The Tigers and Scrappers continue their series at 7 tonight.

"It's nice to have these games once in a while," O-Tigers manager Ryan Newman said. "Our offense responded today. We were due to break out of it. ... Hitting is contagious. When someone starts, it spreads."

Anthony Shawler had a strong spot-start for Oneonta, throwing four innings. He struck out three and walked three, allowing one run on three hits. In his first start of the year, Shawler threw 36 of his 65 pitches for strikes. Shawler stepped in for Luke Putkonen, who was sent back to Detroit to be examined by team doctors for an unspecified injury to his right (pitching) arm, Newman said.

Winning pitcher Mark Brackman (3-2) pitched three inning of relief, giving up an unearned run on one hits. He walked one and struck out three.

"He's moved to the bullpen after his first two starts and has responded well," Newman said of Brackman. "Shawler stepped and started nicely. He's done that in relief for us this year."

Oneonta's offense gave the pitching some breathing room early by scoring twice in each of the first four innings.

Brent Wyatt and Brandon Douglas, who each finished with two hits, had back-to-back singles to put runners on first and third in the first. Ben Guez followed with a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Wyatt for a 1-0 lead.

After Bryan Pounds (two hits) lined a single over leaping second baseman Cord Phelps to put runners at first and second, Mike Gosse reached on an error by shortshop Walter Diaz. Gosse's grounder hit off Diaz's glove and bounced toward third base, loading the bases.

Nowlin then flied out to right for a sacrifice that scored Douglas. Carlos Ramirez (three hits) then singled to left, but Douglas, who was on second, got thrown out at the plate to end the inning.

Oneonta kept rolling in the second, when Joe Bowen led off with a walk and Keith Stein tripled to left for a 3-0 lead.

"It's nice to have a couple balls drop now and then," said Stein, who finished 2-for-4. "I was looking for something to hit, got it and put a good piece of wood on it. Finally someone didn't catch it."

Wyatt made it 4-0 with a sacrifice fly to center.

Mahoning Valley (23-31) scored in the third on a sacrifice fly from Diaz, but Oneonta stayed aggressive in the bottom of the inning.

Nowlin greeted reliever Wilfredo Ramirez with a home run to left field to lead off. Nowlin got a fastball on a 2-0 count and drove it down the line. The ball stayed just inside the foul pole for Nowlin's fourth homer. He's tied for the team lead with Guez.

"I was sitting on it and trying to get the inning started," Nowlin said. "I put a good swing on a bad pitch. ... I almost missed first base. I was looking to make sure it stayed fair."

Ramirez followed with a double to left and, after Bowen grounded out to short, Ramirez scored when Stein singled to right to make it 6-1.

Oneonta finished its scoring in the fourth. Guez and Pounds singled to put runners on first and second. After a wild pitch from Austin Creps moved the runners up, Mahoning Valley brought the infield in for Gosse. He hit a chopper up the middle to score Guez. Creps then got Nowlin to pop out to short and struck out Ramirez swinging, but Bowen singled through the right side to score Pounds for an 8-1 advantage.

The Scrappers scored in the sixth on an RBI single from Tim Fedroff.

MV capped the scoring with two runs in the ninth as Robert Alcombrack hit an RBI double and later scored on a wild pitch by Tyler Stohr.

Gosse, Stohr named All-Stars

Second-baseman Gosse and pitcher Stohr were the only O-Tigers named to the NY-Penn All-Star Team. The two will play for the American League affiliates next Tuesday at Tri-City in the league's annual All-Star Game.

"That's a great opportunity for them," Newman said. "It'll be fun for them to go over there. It's a great experience. They've done an outstanding job for us this year."

Gosse is hitting .265 (40-for-151) for the Tigers this year. He has seven doubles, two triples, a home run and 21 RBIs.

Stohr, the team's closer, has 10 saves in 12 chances this season. He gave up two earned runs Tuesday as his ERA jumped from 2.40 to 3.38.

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ONEONTA _ Even though he's a starter, Matt Hoffman can breathe a sigh of relief.

Left-hander Hoffman threw six strong innings Wednesday to earn his first professional win, leading the Oneonta Tigers to a 4-0 victory over the Mahoning Valley Scrappers in front of 428 fans at Damaschke Field. The victory marked Oneonta's third in a row.

Hoffman allowed three hits, struck out three and walked five in an 86-pitch effort. In his first professional season, which includes stints with Oneonta and Single-A West Michigan, Hoffman is 1-6.

"It feels good to get that first win," Hoffman said. "Finally got that out of the way. So I'll go from there and have some fun the rest of the season."

Hoffman (1-4) took a no-hitter and a 4-0 lead into the fifth inning, then ran into trouble. He gave up back-to-back singles _ to Jeremie Tice and Brock Simpson _ to start the fifth. Catcher Tyler Weber then threw out Tice at third on a double-steal.

Hoffman walked Donnie Webb and Ramon Hernandez to load the bases but struck out Michael Valadez swinging and Corteze Armstrong looking to end the inning.

"He did an outstanding job," O-Tigers manager Ryan Newman said. "He breezed through the first four (innings) and made the pitches when he needed to when he got into a little trouble. That's his first professional win, so it's a real nice outing to see right there."

After getting Isaias Velasquez to ground out to second to open the sixth, Hoffman walked Cord Phelps, gave up a single to Lonnie Chisenhall and walked Walter Diaz to load the bases.

Simpson then hit a hard liner up the middle on a 2-2 pitch, but shortstop Brandon Douglas reached out and grabbed the ball on a run toward second. Douglas cut back to step on second for an unassisted double play that ended the inning.

"(Pitching coach Alan Mills) said I was getting ahead of myself and rushing," Hoffman said. "But the first couple innings, they were free-swinging. I'd go 1-2, 1-1 and they'd swing at it. About the fifth and sixth inning, they started staying back and were being patient. I got used to them swinging at the first couple of pitches and I couldn't get it over the plate."

Douglas, selected as a replacement for the New York-Penn League All-Star Game on Tuesday at Tri-City, finished 3-for-4 with a triple, two runs and a stolen base to lead the Tigers. He'll replace Chisenhall on the roster for the American League affiliates, the NY-Penn announced Wednesday.

"(Newman) told me I was going to fill in before the game," said Douglas, who is hitting .333. "I was excited to get on the phone and call my parents and my brother. It definitely added a little extra bounce to my step tonight."

Oneonta (24-28) remained 3 1/2 games behind first-place Lowell (28-25) in the Stedler Division. The Spinners won at Williamsport, 5-2.

Oneonta and Mahoning Valley finish their three-game set at 7 tonight. The Tigers then travel to Hudson Valley for three games before the three-day All-Star break. After the break, Oneonta has 17 games left to challenge for the division title.

"We went through that little spell where we hit a wall," said Newman, whose team lost six straight before beating Jamestown in the second game of a doubleheader Monday. "The guys got a little tired playing every day for the first time. They are getting their second wind right now and things are clicking. We're playing well on defense, we're getting pitching and the guys are swinging the bats."

The Tigers opened the scoring in the bottom of the first. Brent Wyatt singled to center and Douglas was retired on a soft chopper to third. Wyatt was running on the play and reached second. After Ben Guez got hit by a pitch by losing pitcher Matt Langwell (1-4) and Bryan Pounds flied out to right, All-Star Mike Gosse singled to right-center field to score Wyatt for a 1-0 lead.

"The first run to get things going is always important," Gosse said. "Especially to score first and get a little motivation going for the rest of the team. I felt comfortable knowing everyone around me would do the job as well. I was just trying to get on base and produce some runs."

Douglas led off the last of the third with a triple to the gap in right-center field.

"The gaps on this field are so deep," he said. "If you hit a ball out here, that's the first thing on anybody's mind, especially anybody with a decent amount of speed. As soon as I rounded first, I knew I was going to third right away."

After Guez grounded out to short and Pounds popped out in foul ground to catcher Valadez, Douglas scored on a wild pitch to make it 2-0.

The Tigers closed the scoring in the fourth off reliever Mike McGuire.

Weber doubled to the wall in left and Keith Stein singled through the left side to put runners on first and third.

Wyatt then struck out swinging, but the ball was in the dirt and got past Valadez, allowing Weber to score and moving Stein to second.

Douglas followed with an infield single on a high chopper to third, pushing Stein to third. Guez then grounded to third baseman Tice, who threw out Stein at the plate. Douglas went to second on the play.

With Pounds batting, McGuire threw a pitch in the dirt. Guez started to break for second, but Valadez threw down to catch him in a rundown.

Douglas advanced to third and drew a throw from first baseman Simpson when he broke for home. Simpson's throw hit the ground and got past Valadez, allowing Douglas to score the final run.

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ONEONTA _ Mahoning Valley roughed up Oneonta's Trevor Feeney for six runs over five innings, earning a 10-3 New York-Penn League victory in front of 465 fans at Damaschke Field on Thursday.

The loss snapped Oneonta's three-game winning streak.

Donnie Webb, Lonnie Chisenhall and Jeremie Tice each had three hits for the Scrappers (23-33), who had seven of their 14 hits go for extra bases.

"We've been streaky all year," Mahoning Valley manager Travis Fryman said. "We play seven or 10 games as well as can be. Then we play seven or 10 and look like the Bad News Bears."

The second-place Tigers (24-29) fell 4 1/2 games behind Lowell in the Stedler Division. The Spinners (29-25) won at Williamsport, 5-4. Tri-City (23-31) and Vermont (23-31) each trail by six games. Tri-City won, 2-1, at Batavia and Vermont lost, 2-1, at home against Aberdeen.

The Tigers open a three-game set at Hudson Valley at 7:05 tonight before the three-day All-Star break.

Mahoning Valley, which had been outscored, 12-4, in losing the first two games of the series, broke through early against Feeney (2-5). He gave up six runs (four earned) on nine hits, struck out four and walked none.

"They swung the bats well and Feeney was up in the zone a little bit," O-Tigers manager Ryan Newman said. "If you do that, you'll get hit. Unfortunately, he got hit hard."

After Webb struck out to open the game, Cord Phelps tripled to the right-center field gap and scored when Chisenhall blooped a single to right, giving Mahoning Valley a 1-0 lead.

Ryan Blair had a two-out single in the second inning and scored when Webb tripled to right-center to make it 2-0.

"We've been struggling lately, but we came out swinging the bats tonight," said Tice, who finished 3-for-5, including a double, triple and three RBIs. "We can't dwell on yesterday (a 4-0 loss)."

Oneonta, which stranded a runner at third in the first inning when Billy Nowlin grounded into a 5-4-3 double play, scored one in the second on an RBI single from Hayden Parrott to make it 2-1.

The Scrappers took control in the fifth. After Feeney got Blair to pop out to short to open the inning, Webb singled to right. Phelps then hit a roller to shortstop Brandon Douglas, who came up early and the ball went between his legs into left field. Webb ended up on third.

Chisenhall then doubled to center, scoring Webb and moving Phelps to third. Tice followed with a two-run double to make it 5-1.

Tice moved to third when Brock Simpson flied out to right and scored on Robert Alcombrack's double for a 6-1 score.

"It just didn't go our way tonight," Newman said. "Tonight they beat us and I have to tip my hat to them."

Oneonta scored two in the fifth on an RBI single from Mike Gosse and a sacrifice fly from Keith Stein.

The Scrappers got one of those runs back in the sixth on Phelps' RBI triple and made it 8-3 in the eighth on an RBI single from Webb.

Mahoning Valley finished the scoring in the ninth. Chisenhall singled to lead off and Tice hit a triple that one-hopped the fence in right-center to make it 9-3.

"I was telling (hitting coach Anthony Medrano) that I got into it, but it didn't get out," Tice said with a laugh. "I've struggled, but I got some knocks tonight and got to run the bases."

Tice scored on a wild pitch by Tyler Conn.

Brent Wyatt had three hits to pace the O-Tigers. Gosse contributed two hits.

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Two Oneonta Tigers errors and four Hudson Valley singles contributed to a five-run first inning that lifted the host Renegades to a 7-2 New York-Penn League victory Friday.

Oneonta right fielder Hayden Parrott misplayed a single and shortstop Brandon Douglas made a throwing error during the Renegades' big inning as the Tigers dropped their second straight game.

The loss left the second-place Tigers (24-30) 5 1/2 games behind Stedler Division-leading Lowell (30-25), which defeated visiting Aberdeen, 2-1, Friday. Oneonta has 20 games remaining, heading into the second of a three-game series at Hudson Valley on Saturday.

The Tigers opened the scoring in the first against winning pitcher Tyree Hayes (4-4). Brent Wyatt led off with a double to right and scored on Mike Gosse's one-out single to left.

Oneonta starter David Stokes (3-5) allowed five straight Renegades to reach base after two were out in the first.

Robi Estrada led off with a single to center. Stokes retired the next two batters on come-backers as Estrada advanced to third. Jason Corder then hit an RBI single to left, Jacob Jefferies singled to right, Jeff Carroll hit an RBI single to right and Kyeong Kang hit an RBI single to right. Kang advanced to second and Carroll went to third when Parrott misplayed Kang's single.

The final two runs of the inning scored on Douglas' throwing error after fielding a grounder by Justin Reynolds.

Bryan Pounds' second homer of the season _ a drive to center _ cut the O-Tigers' deficit to 5-2 in the fourth, but Hudson Valley scored in the bottom of the inning. Reynolds and Michael Ross walked off Stokes to start the inning and Estrada followed with an RBI single to left to make it 6-2. Estrada's hit ended Stokes' night after allowing six runs _ four earned _ on seven hits. Stokes struck out one and walked two.

Oneonta hitters were limited to six hits _ all off Hayes, who struck out three and walked one over seven innings. Jamie Bagley followed with two scoreless innings. He struck out four and walked none.

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It appears the Oneonta Tigers will need the Lowell Spinners to collapse in a similar fashion as the 2007 New York Mets to have a chance of making the New York-Penn League playoffs.

Second-place Oneonta, which lost, 3-0, Sunday at Hudson Valley, fell six games behind the Stedler Division-leading Spinners with 18 regular-season games remaining.

Lowell defeated Aberdeen, 11-5, Sunday to improve to 31-25. The Tigers are 25-31 heading into the three-day All-Star Break, which starts today.

Last season, the Mets lost a 7 1/2-game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies in the final 17 games in the National League East Division.

If Lowell plays .500 ball to close the season, Oneonta would need to win 15 of its last 18 games to catch the Spinners.

The Tigers, who have four games left against Lowell, will have three representatives in Tuesday's All-Star Game at Tri-City in second baseman Mike Gosse, shortstop Brandon Douglas and reliever Tyler Stohr.

On Sunday, Oneonta had six hits in the loss to the Renegades. Hudson Valley starter Chris Andujar _ son of four-time All-Star pitcher Joaquin Andujar _ limited the Tigers to five hits over five innings. Andujar (3-2) struck out three and walked two in lowering his ERA to 5.06.

Josh Satow followed with five strikeouts, no walks and one hit in three innings. Matt Gorgen struck out the side in the ninth to earn his 11th save.

The Renegades scored in the first inning off losing pitcher Mark Sorensen (2-4). Anthony Scelfo doubled to center with one out and scored on Jacob Jefferies' two-out single to left.

In the third inning, Hudson Valley made it 2-0. Jason Tweedy led off with a double to right and scored on Jeff Carroll's one-out single to right.

Sorensen allowed two runs on seven hits over four innings. He struck out one and walked none.

Justin Reynolds capped the scoring with a leadoff homer to center off Aaron Fuhrman in the sixth. Fuhrman struck out five and walked none over four innings, allowing one run on three hits.

Ben Guez had two hits for the O-Tigers, who were shut out for the fifth time this season.

SATURDAY

O-Tigers 10, Hudson Valley 2

Gosse went 4-for-5 and Carlos Ramirez had three hits _ including his third homer of the season _ to lead the visiting O-Tigers, who won despite committing five errors.

Darwin De Leon (4-2) earned the victory after relieving Dan DeLucia in the fifth inning. De Leon struck out seven and walked one in four innings of one-hit ball.

Oneonta scored two runs in each of the first three innings to take a 6-2 lead.

In the first inning, Douglas reached on a fielding error by first baseman John Mollicone, Gosse singled and Keith Stein walked to load the bases with one out. Douglas scored on a wild pitch by loser Nick Barnese. Bryan Pounds then hit a sacrifice fly to center to make it 2-0.

The Tigers got out of the first inning despite three errors by third baseman Pounds, who has committed 20 errors in 44 games this season.

With two out, Mike McKenna reached on a fielding error by Pounds. Jason Corder then reached on a fielding error by Pounds, who followed with a poor throw to first that allowed McKenna to reach third. DeLucia got out of the jam by inducing Mollicone to fly out to left.

Gosse's two-run single in the second gave the Tigers a 4-0 lead.

The Renegades got two runs back in the bottom of the second. Michael Ross had a run-scoring groundout and Justin Reynolds stole home to make it 4-2.

But the Tigers scored two more runs in the third on Ramirez's homer _ a leadoff drive to left _ and an RBI double by Brent Wyatt.

Tyler Weber doubled home a run for Oneonta in the fifth. Ramirez's two-run triple highlighted Oneonta's three-run ninth.

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The sale of the Oneonta Tigers is nearing its final steps, team president Sam Nader said Monday night.

The New York-Penn League will vote on the sale at its annual meeting at 10 a.m. this morning at the Desmond Hotel in Albany, Nader said.

"It's going to be presented to the league," Nader said. "I don't anticipate any difficulties, but who knows. I don't see why there would be any problems."

Nader, 89, and Sid Levine, 95, the vice president and treasurer of the Oneonta Athletic Corporation, announced the sale of the team at a media conference July 1 to a group headed by New York City lawyer E. Miles Prentice III. The other members of the group are Steve Long, John Gleason, Ed Mattes, Laura Mattes-Cox and Jim Weber.

Weber's son, Andy, is set to serve as the team's general manager and has worked alongside O-Tigers director of operations Bob Zeh this summer.

As per terms of the sale, the team will remain in Oneonta through at least 2010.

Nader said as long as the league approves the sale, it will then need approval of Minor League Baseball and Major League Baseball.

"They do a pretty thorough investigation of the principals to keep unsavory people out of the game," said Nader, the franchise's owner since 1966. "But Miles has two clubs, so he can't be too bad."

Prentice owns two Double-A teams _ the Huntsville Stars (Ala.) and the Midland RockHounds (Texas). He also owns the Odessa Jackalopes, a minor league hockey team in the Central Hockey League.

Nader said he doesn't foresee any problems with the MILB or MLB approving the transaction. He said it should be completed some time in September.

"As long as we made the decision to sell, let's get it over with," Nader said. "I'd like to get the transaction done."

The league meeting in Albany coincides with the annual All-Star Game, which begins at 7:15 tonight at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium in Troy, the home of the Tri-City ValleyCats.

Three Oneonta Tigers _ second baseman Mike Gosse, shortstop Brandon Douglas and pitcher Tyler Stohr _ will represent the American League team.

Gosse has played in 48 games this season for the Tigers (25-31). He's hitting .292 (49-for-168), with seven doubles, two triples, a home run and 26 RBIs. He's also walked 12 times and struck out nine.

Douglas, who has also spent time with the Gulf Coast League Tigers and the West Michigan Whitecaps this season, is hitting .305 (43-for-141) in 35 games with Oneonta. He's scored 25 times to go along with five doubles, two triples and a home run. He's also stolen nine bases in 10 attempts.

Stohr (0-0) is tied for fourth in the league with 10 saves in 12 attempts. He has a 3.18 ERA in 17 innings, allowing seven runs (six earned) on 13 hits. Stohr has struck out 20 and walked 11.

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New York-Penn League owners unanimously approved the sale of the Oneonta Tigers to a group headed by E. Miles Prentice III on Tuesday, team president Sam Nader said.

The league voted on the transaction at its annual meeting, which was held at the Desmond Hotel in Albany in conjunction with the NY-Penn All-Star Game.

"They had discussed it in the executive board and it came through from there," said Nader, who along with vice president and treasurer Sid Levine are the only living members of the Oneonta Athletic Corporation. "There weren't quite tears, but it was close. Our longevity exceeds everyone else. We've seen owners and general managers come and go."

The OAC has owned the Oneonta franchise since 1966, when the team was affiliated with the Boston Red Sox.

For the sale to be finalized, it needs to be approved by Minor League Baseball and Major League Baseball. Nader said Tuesday night that Prentice had been given unofficial approval by Minor League Baseball, pending the NY-Penn approval, so all that is left to finish the deal is for MLB to give its OK.

"We haven't had the sale yet," Prentice said Tuesday at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium in Troy, the site of the league's All-Star Game. "What we had was that the NY-Penn League approved our application. Last week, Minor League Baseball approved our application subject to NY-Penn League approval."

Nader and Prentice said the process could take anywhere from 30 to 60 days to complete.

New York City lawyer Prentice and Andy Weber, who will take over as the team's general manager after the sale is completed, attended the league meeting, Nader said.

"We got a good reaction," Nader said. "We've had a very good relationship with other ownerships for a long time. It's a great mutual respect."

Nader, 89, and Levine, 95, announced the sale at a media conference on July 1 at Damaschke Field.

Prentice owns two Double-A minor league teams as well as a minor league hockey team. The other members of the ownership group are Steve Long, John Gleason, Ed Mattes, Laura Mattes-Cox and Jim Weber, who is Andy Weber's father.

Terms of the sale require Prentice to keep the team in Oneonta through at least the 2010 season.

"A lot (of the owners) already knew (Prentice) because he has been a member of the board (of Minor League Baseball)," Nader said. "They asked him if he intended to keep the club in Oneonta and he affirmed to them again that he was."

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TROY _ Two Oneonta Tigers figured heavily into the outcome of the New York-Penn League All-Star Game on Tuesday at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium.

O-Tigers second baseman Mike Gosse hit a go-ahead RBI single and scored during a three-run seventh inning for the American League.

But Oneonta closer and losing pitcher Tyler Stohr allowed three runs in the ninth inning of the National League's 4-3 victory before 6,149 fans _ the second-highest attendance ever at Bruno Stadium, which opened in 2002.

David Flores of host Tri-City hit a two-run double with two out in the ninth inning to end it. He hit a towering fly ball to left-center off Stohr. Left fielder Robert Widlansky of Aberdeen backpedaled on the ball before drifting to his left. At the last moment, Widlansky reached to his left, but the ball glanced off his glove as his back made contact with the fence.

"I just went up there to hopefully get the next guy up," Flores said. "(Stohr) threw me a fastball that was down. I hit it well, but I knew today the wind was blowing in so I wasn't too sure if it was going to get out or not so I just kept running. I heard the crowd cheer and I saw the ball was on the ground and I knew the game was over then."

By the time Widlansky retrieved the ball and threw toward the infield, J.B. Shuck of Tri-City and Charles Cutler of Batavia had scored.

Stohr's blown save might have prevented Gosse from earning MVP honors, which instead went to Flores.

Gosse, who entered in the bottom of the fifth inning, went 2-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored to lead the American League.

With the American League trailing, 1-0, heading into the top of the seventh, Gosse's single through the right side of the infield scored Jason Tweedy from second as the AL took a 2-1 lead. Gosse scored on Mitch Dening's two-out single to left. The throw home from Steve Susdorf beat Gosse, but catcher Cutler dropped the throw to make it 3-1.

"It's a really close game the whole time and they got a couple of guys on and had the (the ball) fall in there," Gosse said. "(Widlansky) had a great effort for that ball in left field (and a catch) would've ended the game, but unfortunately, you know, (it) kind of bobbled around and didn't land in his glove. Both teams gave an unbelievable effort tonight. It was awesome.

"I was happy to be fortunate enough to get a couple of hits and get an RBI and help out if we were going to get a win, you know," he continued. "It's too bad that we didn't, but like I said again it's a great honor."

Stohr entered in the ninth and gave up a leadoff double to State College's Chase D'Arnaud _ a drive down the third-base line. Brandon Turner of Jamestown grounded out to Gosse at second as D'Arnaud advanced to third.

Shuck followed with a soft fly to shallow center that dropped between Gosse and center fielder Anthony Scelfo for a single that scored D'Arnaud to make it 3-2.

A wild pitch by Stohr sent Shuck to second. Cutler then walked on a seven-pitch at-bat, taking the final pitch on a 3-2 count.

After Stohr struck out Jeremy Farrell for the second out, Flores ended it.

"He's a tough guy," Flores said of Stohr. "I've faced him before. I was just trying to do my best to get the next guy up and I couldn't even tell you what happened on that swing.

"I had no idea how far the ball was going to go," he continued. "It would go out on a normal day for sure. I knew I hit it well, but it fell short (of a home run). He threw a fastball that I had a chance to catch up with and I put the bat on the ball."

Stohr, a right-hander with 10 saves this season, threw 22 pitches in the ninth _ 14 for strikes.

Oneonta shortstop Brandon Douglas started for the AL. He struck out looking in his lone at-bat.

Phil Rummel of Tri City was named the game's outstanding pitcher. Rummel pitched a scoreless sixth inning and struck out two.

The NY-Penn's three-day break ends Thursday, when the O-Tigers begin a three-game series against the Hudson Valley Renegades at Damaschke Field. Second-place Oneonta has 18 games left in the regular season and trails Stedler Division-leading Lowell by six games.

"We need to get back into this race a little bit," Stohr said before the game. "Hopefully gain some ground on Lowell, they're a couple of games ahead of us and we go out there and we play Lowell next week. So, we need to catch them, pass them and you know, make the playoffs and hopefully put a run together in the playoffs."

The Renegades scored three times in the top of the first inning en route to a 3-1 New York-Penn League victory in front of 1,435 fans at Damaschke Field.

"We didn't execute tonight, situational or offensively. We didn't get the job," O-Tigers manager Ryan Newman said. "When you don't do that, the other team is going to come out on top."

The teams each played for the first time since the three-day All-Star break, which ran Monday through Wednesday.

Despite an 8-6 advantage in hits, Oneonta left seven runners on base, including five in scoring position.

"The big hit, we just didn't get it tonight," said Newman, who then used Keith Stein to illustrate his point. Stein led off the last of the sixth inning with a single and stole second _ giving the O-Tigers a runner at second with none out _ but failed to score.

"We had a situation in one point of the game with a man on second with nobody out and couldn't get him over and we ended up leaving him out there," Newman continued. "When you do things like that, you're not going to come out on top too often."

The O-Tigers (25-32) remained second in the Stedler Division, still 6 1/2 games behind Lowell. The Spinners lost, 2-0, at Brooklyn on Thursday. Each team has 16 games remaining, including four head-to-head. Oneonta visits Lowell for a two-game series Aug. 30-31, then hosts the Spinners for two Sept. 3-4.

"We just have to come out and play our game and play the game right," Newman said. "If we do that, we're going to give ourself a chance to win. We can't control what Lowell does. We just have to come out, execute and hopefully come out on top."

The Tigers continue their three-game home set against Hudson Valley at 7 tonight. The Renegades are second in the McNamara Division, four games behind Staten Island.

On Thursday, Oneonta's Matt Hoffman (1-5) walked Robi Estrada and gave up a single to Anthony Scelfo to open the game. After Jason Tweedy struck out swinging, Jason Corder lined a single into left field.

The ball bounced off the ground and then off the glove of left-fielder Brent Wyatt. Estrada scored on the hit and Scelfo came home on the error, which allowed Corder to reach second.

Jacob Jefferies then singled to left to put runners at the corners for Justin Reynolds, who bounced a grounder to second baseman Mike Gosse. Shortstop Brandon Douglas covered second to force out Jefferies but had no chance to turn a double play and held onto the ball. Corder scored on the play for a 3-0 lead.

"When you get opportunities, good teams usually take advantage of them," Hudson Valley manager Joe Alvarez said. "If you look at the score, they did a hell of a job for eight innings after that. I'm glad we took of advantage of that first inning. If not, I don't know what would have happened out here tonight."

Hoffman went six innings, giving up the three runs on six hits. He struck out six and walked two. Anthony Shawler followed with three perfect innings, striking out three.

Oneonta scored with two out in the third.

Wyatt reached base when second baseman Jeremy Beckham dropped a pop up to shallow center. Wyatt then stole second and continued to third on an errant throw from catcher Jefferies that one-hopped Beckham and went into center. Douglas followed with an infield single between third and short that brought home Wyatt.

Shane Dyer (3-3) earned the victory, giving up the one run on seven hits over five innings. Dyer struck out five and walked none. Marquis Fleming followed with three innings of one-hit ball, striking out four. Matt Gorgen pitched a perfect ninth, striking out one for his 12th save.

Jefferies and Jeffrey Carroll had two hits apiece for Hudson Valley. Douglas, Gosse and Stein each had three hits for Oneonta.

Hudson Valley allowed eight hits in a 10-1 New York-Penn League victory over the Tigers in front of 452 fans at Damaschke Field on Friday night.

The second-place O-Tigers (25-33) dropped 7 1/2 games behind Lowell (33-26) in the Stedler Division as the Spinners won, 2-1, at Brooklyn.

Oneonta, which has lost five of its past six games, finishes its three-game home series against HV at 7 p.m. Saturday. The Tigers then start a three-game set against visiting Aberdeen (31-30) at 6 p.m. Sunday. The Ironbirds are last in the McNamara Division, eight games behind Staten Island (39-22).

"Players get in slumps and so do teams," said Oneonta second baseman Mike Gosse, who finished 2-for-4 to improve his batting average to .301. Gosse trails only shortstop Brandon Douglas (.302) for the team batting lead. "Sometimes it's a lot harder for a team to come out of the slump than a player. You have games like this. We've just been struggling to find it."

In contrast, Hudson Valley earned its third straight victory _ all against the Tigers _ and has won nine of its last 10 games. The Renegades (35-25), second in the McNamara, pulled within three games of the Yankees as Staten Island fell, 7-6, at Vermont.

Oneonta and Lowell each have 15 games remaining, including four head-to-head.

"We're going to do our best to turn it around," Gosse said. "We're still in it and hopefully we can pull it out and start winning some games and get in the playoffs."

Hudson Valley's Tyree Hayes, the son of former major leaguer Charlie Hayes, scattered four hits over six innings to improve to 5-4. He struck out six and walked one.

Glenn Gibson struck out none and walked none in three innings to earn his first save, giving up a run on four hits.

Hayes got help early as the Renegades built a 5-0 lead during the first five innings.

"Anytime I get run support, it makes it a lot easier," Hayes said. "I like to throw it to the bat and let them hit the ball, so with a lot of run support I can just throw fastballs and go after them. ... After we scored a bunch of runs, I was just trying to go out there, let them hit it and let my defense help me out."

Hayes also beat the Tigers on Aug. 15 at Hudson Valley, scattering six hits over seven innings in a 7-2 win.

"They put up 10 runs and held us to one run," Oneonta manager Ryan Newman said of Friday's game. "When you do that, you're going to win games. That's twice we faced that guy. ... He does a good job out there and he beat us twice now."

Jason Corder gave Hayes all the run support he needed in the first.

After Oneonta starter Trevor Feeney (2-6) walked Robi Estrada to open the game, he got Anthony Scelfo to fly out to right and Jason Tweedy to fly out to left. Corder followed with a seven-pitch at-bat, homering to left-center field on a 2-2 pitch.

"It was a hanging curve or a slider," said Corder, who finished 2-for-5. "(Feeney) left it up in the zone, right in my wheelhouse. This is a big yard. .... It was just up in the zone, I put a good swing on it and didn't try and swing too hard and it hit the barrel."

The Renegades made it 3-0 in the second.

Kyeong Kang doubled to open the inning, moved to third when Mark Thomas flied out to right and scored on a sacrifice fly to right by Michael Ross.

Hudson Valley pulled away in the third. Tweedy had a one-out, bunt single down the third-base line, but Corder popped out to catcher Joe Bowen in foul territory for the second out. Jacob Jefferies followed with a grounder to short that Douglas bobbled, and both runners were safe on the error.

Jeffrey Carroll then hit a two-run double to left for a 5-0 lead.

"We're not as bad as we showed the other night (a 3-1 win Thursday) or as good as we showed tonight," said Hudson Valley manager Joe Alvarez, who played for the Oneonta Yankees in 1975 and coached under Randy Ready for the 2003 O-Tigers. "That's baseball and everything just came our way. We'll take it, absolutely."

Hudson Valley made it 7-0 in the fifth. Corder and Jefferies had back-to-back one-out singles off reliever Mark Brackman to put runners on first and second. Each moved up a base when Carroll grounded out to short for the second out. Kang then hit a sharp grounder that Douglas bobbled for his second error, allowing Corder to score and Jefferies to move to third. Jefferies later scored on a wild pitch.

Justin Reynolds hit a two-run homer off Luis Gil in the eighth to make it 9-0.

Oneonta scored in the eighth. Ben Guez led off with a double and, after Luis Arlet grounded out to third and Gibson got Douglas on a sharp comebacker, Gosse hit an opposite-field, RBI single through the left side.

Kang capped the scoring with an RBI single in the ninth.

NOTES: The Detroit Tigers recently promoted relief pitchers Lester Oliveros (Single-A Lakeland) and Aaron Fuhrman (Single-A West Michigan). ... Steve Gilman, who had been on the disabled list since July 22, was activated Friday.

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Billy Nowlin hit his team-leading fifth home run of the season, but the Oneonta Tigers dropped their fourth straight New York-Penn League game, 7-5, to the Hudson Valley Renegades in front of a season-high 3,726 fans at Damaschke Field on Saturday night.

Hudson Valley swept the three-game series.

The Tigers trailed, 6-1, before Nowlin hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning to make it 6-3.

Oneonta got outhit, 14-11, and stranded 10 runners. The Renegades left six on base.

The Tigers opened a 1-0 lead in the first. Mike Gosse hit a two-out single to left and Carlos Ramirez followed with a single to right to put runners on first and second. Keith Stein then singled in Gosse for the early lead.

The Renegades rallied in the second. Jeff Carroll walked with two out against David Stokes (3-6) and Kyeong Kang tripled to right to tie it at 1. Mark Thomas then tripled to right, scoring Kang, and Michael Ross followed with an RBI single for a 3-1 lead.

The Renegades made it 4-1 in the fourth on a sacrifice fly from Ross. Hudson Valley scored twice in the fifth, on an RBI triple from Jason Tweedy and a run-scoring single from Jacob Jefferies, to make it 6-1.

Ramirez led off the bottom of the eighth with a walk against reliever Jamie Bagley, then moved to second when Luis Arlet grounded out to third. Nowlin then hit a towering shot over the left-field wall to make it 6-3.

Robi Estrada tripled off Steve Gilman to open the ninth and later scored on a one-out sacrifice fly to center by Tweedy for a 7-3 advantage.

Brent Wyatt and Ben Guez opened the bottom of the ninth with singles to put runners on first and second. Bagley then threw a wild pitch, putting both runners into scoring position. Gosse followed with a two-run single to center for the final margin.

Gosse advanced to second on a wild pitch, but Bagley got Ramirez to ground out to first, pinch-hitter Brandon Douglas to pop out to short and Nowlin to ground out to short to end the game.

Wyatt, Guez, Gosse, Ramirez and Nowlin had two hits apiece to lead Oneonta.

Stokes gave up six runs (five earned) on 10 hits over five innings. He struck out none and walked two. Daniel DeLucia followed with three innings of one-hit ball, striking out three. Gilman pitched the ninth, allowing one run on one hit.

Kang tripled, doubled and singled for the Renegades. He finished 3-for-4.

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Wyatt went 2-for-4 with two RBIs to lead the Oneonta Tigers to a 6-5 New York-Penn League victory over the Aberdeen IronBirds in front of 428 fans at Damaschke Field on Sunday night.

The second-place Tigers (26-34), who snapped a four-game skid, trail Lowell (35-26) by 8 1/2 games in the Stedler Division with 13 games to play. The Spinners won at Staten Island, 4-2.

Oneonta and Lowell are scheduled to meet four more times this season.

"This is baseball. You never know what can happen," Wyatt said. "We're not out of it until they clinch, so we have to come out here and do what we can to win ballgames."

Billy Nowlin snapped a 3-all tie with Aberdeen (31-32) in the bottom of the fifth. Brandon Douglas led off with a triple to right-center field. After Mike Gosse struck out looking, Nowlin hit a sacrifice fly to right field to put the Tigers up, 4-3.

"This is big," Nowlin said. "It reminds us that we do know how to play the game and play it right. It's big for us. This is maybe what we needed _ a little momentum _ and hopefully it can snowball from here."

Oneonta made it 6-3 in the sixth off reliever Marcus Moore. Carlos Ramirez reached when Aberdeen shortstop Jason Altenhof tried to backhand a grounder, but the ball went off the heel of his glove for an error. Hayden Parrott then singled to shallow right on a hit-and-run to put runners on first and second. After Tyler Weber moved the runners over on a sacrifice bunt and Ben Guez grounded out to first, Wyatt hit a two-run single to left to make it 6-3.

"(Moore is) kind of a sidearm guy, so I knew there would be movement on his ball," Wyatt said. "He went 3-0 and threw a strike in there. I got a good look at it and it was moving. I wasn't going to try and do too much. I was glad I was finally able to come through with runners on base for us."

Aberdeen scored a run in the seventh and another in the eighth off Anthony Shawler to make it 6-5. The IronBirds then loaded the bases in the top of the ninth against closer Tyler Stohr, who got Paul Chimiel to fly out to right to end the game for his 11th save.

"Hopefully this will get us going," Oneonta manager Ryan Newman said. "We lost four in a row there and weren't executing real well. But, hopefully this will turn the tables and get us rolling. We can only control our destiny. We can't really watch and see what Lowell does. We'll just see the next day what they did. As long as we take care of business like we did tonight, we should be OK."

Darwin DeLeon (5-2) went five innings to earn the victory. He gave up three runs on four hits, struck out three and walked five. Shawler went three innings, giving up two runs on three hits. He struck out two. Stohr walked two and allowed a hit.

After Aberdeen opened the scoring in the third with two runs, the O-Tigers tied it in the bottom of the inning.

Wyatt singled with two out and Douglas reached when his grounder went off the Altenhof's glove for an error. Gosse then hit a grounder into the hole between first and second. First baseman Chimiel fielded the ball and threw to covering pitcher Aaron Odom, who dropped it to load the bases.

Nowlin then singled up the middle, scoring Wyatt and Douglas to make it 2-2.

"I was just trying to put the ball in play," Nowlin said. "We had two outs, bases loaded, a big situation for us. It got to 3-2 and I was trying to hit something back up the middle. The ball got in on me, but I got it enough to get it up the middle. It felt pretty good."

The IronBirds, who committed five errors, took the lead in the fourth on an RBI single by Eric Perlozzo, but Oneonta again tied it in the bottom of the inning.

With two out, Weber reached on a fielding error by third baseman Tyler Kolodny and went to second on a wild pitch by Odom. Catcher Caleb Joseph attempted to get Nowlin, but his throw bounced shy of the base and skipped into center. Weber advanced to third on the play.

The right-hander pitched six strong innings to lead the Oneonta Tigers to their second straight New York-Penn League victory, 4-2, over the Aberdeen IronBirds in front of 429 fans at Damaschke Field.

Sorensen (3-3) gave up two runs (one earned) on four hits. He struck out six, walked two and constantly battled out of trouble as Aberdeen (31-33) put leadoff batters on base in five of his six innings.

"I think I was comfortable from the start and we made some good plays behind me, so it made it easy," Sorensen said. "I think my breaking stuff was good and (catcher) Joe Bowen was pretty unbelievable behind the dish, so it was a good night.

"When you give up two runs over six (innings), you have to be happy with that," he continued. "And the team got a win. That's really all that matters."

The O-Tigers (27-34) remained 8 1/2 games behind Lowell (36-26) in the Stedler Division. Oneonta has 13 games left, one more than Lowell. The Spinners remained hot, winning their third straight and 10th in 11 games with a 6-3 victory at Staten Island on Monday.

"Last night in the clubhouse after the game, we talked about our playoff situation and right now, we're not going to worry about it," said Oneonta shortstop Brandon Douglas, who tripled for the second straight night. "We're just going to go out and play and let the cards fall as they may. We've been lucky enough to come out the past two nights and get some wins."

Oneonta and Aberdeen finish their three-game set at 7 tonight. The Tigers then travel to Brooklyn for three games, beginning at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday.

Luis Gil pitched two innings in relief of Sorensen, allowing one hit. Tyler Stohr earned his 12th save _ and second in as many nights _ by striking out one in a perfect ninth.

The Tigers rallied from a 2-1 deficit in the sixth.

Brent Wyatt singled to left and scored when Douglas tripled to center.

"I saw a fastball and was able to put a pretty good swing on it and drove it to the gap and got a triple," Douglas said. "It felt pretty nice hitting the ball hard for once. I've been kind of struggling the past couple of weeks, so it's always nice to square up and hit a ball hard.

"(Calvin Lester) is so fast in center," he continued. "I thought for sure he was going to cut it down. But when it starts getting dark out here, the grass gets a little wet and the thing just skipped right to the wall, so it was perfect."

After Mike Gosse struck out swinging for the first out, Billy Nowlin hit a slow chopper toward short, but third baseman Tyler Kolodny cut the ball off. Douglas broke home on the hit and Kolodny looked toward home but threw to first. Douglas scored to make it 3-2.

Kolodny's throw went low to first, skipping in front of Paul Chmiel and ending up in foul territory. Nowlin rounded second and reached third as Chmiel's throw went wide of the base, drawing Kolodny off the bag.

After Wade Lamont lined out to second, Nowlin scored on a wild pitch by losing pitcher Anthony Kirbis (2-4) to make it 4-2.

Aberdeen opened the scoring in the third, after T.J. Baxter tripled to center. Sorensen got Eric Perlozzo to fly out to left, and Baxter faked going home to draw a throw from Wyatt. The ball bounced in front of third baseman Eric Harryman, who tried to cut the throw off near the pitcher's mound. The ball skipped off Harryman's body and sailed toward the Aberdeen dugout, allowing Baxter to score.

Oneonta didn't take long to tie it up as Ben Guez hit a 3-2 fastball from Nathan Moreau over the left-field wall for a one-out home run in the bottom of the third. Guez saw nine pitches in the at-bat.

"That was probably the best at-bat I've seen him have all year," Oneonta manager Ryan Newman said. "He really battled, fought off some tough pitches and ended up hitting the ball out of the park. It's nice to see him get it going again. That's the kind of ball player he can be."

Guez, who said he got a fastball, is tied with Nowlin for the team lead in homers with five.

"I was locked in. I got some good pitches to hit and I missed a couple," Guez said. "Finally I got one and I was lucky enough to hit it out and it felt good. It was 3-2 right over the heart of the plate and I just took advantage of it. ... I was running hard, I thought I was going to have a double. I was fortunate that it went out and got to score a run."

The IronBirds took the lead in the fourth.

Caleb Joseph singled to right and, after Kolodny and Chmiel each struck out swinging, stole second. Jacob Julius followed with an RBI single to left for a 2-1 lead.

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Wyatt's two-out, two-run triple highlighted a four-run eighth inning as the Oneonta Tigers earned a three-game sweep against the IronBirds with a 6-4 New York-Penn League victory in front of 456 fans at Damaschke Field.

Wyatt, who finished 3-for-5, drove a 1-1 pitch from Aberdeen closer Brandon Cooney to the right-center field gap to score Hayden Parrott and Ben Guez for a 5-4 Oneonta lead.

"I don't know if that guy really throws a pitch that I really like," Wyatt said. "He throws pretty hard, but it's straight. I was looking for a fastball to hit and that's what I got. It went my way, I guess."

Oneonta (28-34) won its third straight and pulled within 7 1/2 games of first-place Lowell in the Stedler Division. The Spinners (36-27) fell, 9-1, at Staten Island on Tuesday. The Tigers have 12 games remaining and Lowell has 11. The two meet four more times this season.

The Tigers start a three-game set at Brooklyn at 7:05 p.m. today. The Cylcones (37-28) are tied with Hudson Valley for second in the McNamara Division, four games behind Staten Island (41-24).

Catcher Joe Bowen stood out as the lone Oneonta batter without a hit as he struck out four times. Six of the Tigers' nine batters scored.

"It would have been nice to have a good little stretch earlier, but you never know what can happen," Wyatt said. "As long as we keep doing the right thing out here, we're not going to have any regrets."

Aberdeen (31-34) held a 4-2 lead entering the bottom of the eighth.

Reliever Ryan O'Shea got Carlos Ramirez to ground out to short to open the inning, but Bryan Pounds doubled to left and moved to third when Parrott singled. After Bowen struck out looking, Cooney (1-2) relieved O'Shea.

Guez greeted the 6-foot-6, 236-pound righty with a single to right on his first pitch, scoring Pounds to make it 4-3.

Wyatt followed with his triple to make it 5-4.

"A line drive as soon as it gets through the infield, you know you have a hit," said Wyatt, whose shot skipped to the wall. "With it wet out there (from the night dew), I think it was able to skip pretty good and I was able to get a triple out of it."

Brandon Douglas then hit a sharp grounder to third. The ball popped in and then out of Tyler Kolodny's glove, allowing Douglas to beat the throw to first. Wyatt scored on the play to make it 6-4.

The O-Tigers came through in the eighth after stranding runners at second and third in the first inning, another at second in the third and leaving the bases loaded in the fifth.

"I was just thinking let's put ourselves in a position like that again and see what happens," Oneonta manager Ryan Newman said. "More than not, I have confidence we'll get the job done. I was just hoping we'd get in that spot again."

Aberdeen starter Rick Zagone kept Oneonta in check early, allowing two runs on seven hits over five innings. He struck out eight and walked one.

"Once we got that starter out of the game, and he did a good job, we got to their bullpen a little bit," Newman said. "That's all it takes. You are going to run into a good arm like every once in a while. That guy had some pretty good numbers. Once we got him out of the game, the offense came alive."

Aberdeen led, 4-0, after two innings. Kraig Binick had a two-run single in the second to cap a three-run inning.

Oneonta scored twice in the fourth. Billy Nowlin led off with a single and scored when Ramirez doubled to center. After Ramirez moved to third on a wild pitch by Zagone, he scored when Pounds grounded out to short.

Mark Brackman (4-2) earned the victory, pitching three strong innings. He gave up two hits and struck out three. Tyler Conn allowed one hit in the ninth en route to his first professional save.

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Brooklyn scored twice in the bottom of the eighth inning Wednesday and reliever Jimmy Johnson pitched a perfect ninth for his first save of the New York-Penn League season as the Cyclones downed the visiting Oneonta Tigers, 3-1.

Center fielder Ben Guez finished 2-for-3 with a run for the Tigers (28-35), who lost for the first time in four games. With 11 games left, Oneonta has little chance to reach the postseason as it fell 8 1/2 games behind Stedler Division leader Lowell (37-27).

The Spinners won, 5-3, at Hudson Valley on Wednesday. Lowell has 10 games remaining, including four against the Tigers.

Oneonta continues its three-game series at Brooklyn tonight and Friday before visiting Lowell on Saturday and Sunday. The Tigers then return to Damaschke Field for their final homestand of the 2008 season, a four-game finale that starts with two against Vermont and ends with two against Lowell.

Oneonta closes the season Sept. 5-6 at Vermont, which lost Wednesday and is third in the Stedler at 27-37. Last-place Tri-City (25-38) also lost Wednesday.

The Tigers have virtually no shot at earning the wild-card playoff spot as nine NY-Penn teams have better records than them.

On Wednesday, Oneonta opened the scoring in the fifth.

Guez sparked the rally with a one-out single to left field and moved to second when Brent Wyatt walked. Brandon Douglas then lined a single to right field to load the bases.

Guez scored for a 1-0 lead when Brooklyn starter Bradley Holt threw a wild pitch to NY-Penn All-Star Mike Gosse. All three runners advanced a base on the miscue, but the Tigers stranded Wyatt at third and Douglas at second as Gosse and Billy Nowlin each grounded out to shortstop Juan Lagares to end the inning.

Sean Ratliff led off the last of the fifth with a home run to center field off Oneonta starter Trevor Feeney, who scattered six hits, struck out six and walked none in six innings. Ratliff's shot marked his seventh homer of the season.

Brooklyn (38-28) snapped the tie in the eighth, when Ratliff drove in two runs on a bases-loaded single to center with two out. Anthony Shawler took the pitching loss after allowing two runs on three hits and two walks in two innings of relief. Shawler, who struck out none, fell to 2-3 with a 2.05 ERA on the season.

Roy Merritt improved to 3-0 with a 1.46 ERA after earning the pitching victory in relief. He struck out two and allowed one hit in three innings, setting up Johnson for the save.

Wyatt had the only Oneonta hit during the last four innings, a two-out, infield single against Merritt in the seventh.

The Tigers, who went down in order in the eighth and ninth, were outhit, 9-5. Shawler, second baseman Gosse and center fielder Guez committed throwing errors in the loss.

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Carlos Ramirez went 2-for-4 Thursday, but the Oneonta Tigers lost their second straight New York-Penn League game, 6-0, at the Brooklyn Cyclones.

The second-place Tigers (28-36) remained 8 1/2 games behind Lowell (37-28) in the Stedler Division. The Spinners lost, 6-2, at Hudson Valley. Lowell's magic number is two, meaning any combination of two Lowell wins or two Oneonta losses down the stretch will eliminate the Tigers from the division-title race.

Oneonta has 10 games remaining and Lowell has nine. The teams go head-to-head four more times this season.

The Tigers have been eliminated from the wild-card chase as they can't catch Batavia (40-25), which is a half-game behind Jamestown (41-25) in the Pinckney Division.

Oneonta and Brooklyn finish a three-game set at 7:05 p.m. today. The Tigers then visit Lowell for two games before returning home for a five-game homestand, beginning with a doubleheader against Vermont on Monday.

The Cyclones (39-28) scored five runs in the third inning Thursday _ all on two-out, RBI singles _ to take control.

Sean Ratliff singled to right off David Stokes (3-7) and moved to second when Kyle Suire grounded out to first. After Stokes struck out Kirk Nieuwenhuis swinging, Seth Williams walked.

The Cyclones capped the scoring in the fourth against reliever Santo Mieses.

With one out, Nieuwenhuis doubled to right and Campbell walked to put runners on first and second. After Campbell struck out looking, Abruzzo singled to center, scoring Nieuwenhuis for a 6-0 lead.

Three Brooklyn pitchers combined on a six-hitter.

Jenrry Mejia (3-1) gave up four hits, struck out six and walked three in five innings. Wendy Rosa followed with 3 2/3 innings, striking out seven, walking three and allowing two hits. Erik Turgeon sealed it with a strike out in the ninth.

Stokes gave up five runs on eight hits in three innings. He struck out one and walked one.

Mieses allowed one run on three hits over two innings, striking out four and walking one. Daniel DeLucia gave up one hit in two innings and struck out two.

Steve Gilman pitched the final inning, striking out two and walking one.

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Billy Nowlin had four hits, but the Oneonta Tigers dropped their third straight New York-Penn League game, 3-2, at Brooklyn on Friday night.

The O-Tigers (28-37) stayed 8 1/2 games behind Lowell in the Stedler Division. The Spinners (37-29), who lost at Hudson Valley, 4-1, saw their magic number drop to one and can clinch the division championship with either one victory or one Oneonta loss.

The Tigers have nine games remaining and Lowell eight. The teams open a two-game set at 5:05 p.m. Saturday. Lowell and Oneonta will finish the series at 5:05 p.m. Sunday before the Tigers return home for three games with Vermont, beginning with a doubleheader Monday.

Brooklyn (40-28) scored its runs in the second off Oneonta starter Darwin DeLeon (5-3).

With one out, Wilmer Flores singled to center and scored when Sean Ratliff doubled to center. J.R. Voyles then reached on a fielder's choice when he grounded to shortstop Brent Wyatt, who threw to third baseman Bryan Pounds to get Ratliff.

Kirk Nieuwenhuis followed with a ground-rule double to put runners on second and third and Seth Williams singled to center to score Voyles and Nieuwenhuis for a 3-0 lead.

The Tigers scored two in the top of the third. After Hayden Parrott lined out to center, Tyler Weber singled and Luis Arlet doubled to put runners on second and third. Both runners scored when Brent Wyatt singled to center.

DeLeon allowed three runs on six hits over five innings. He struck out five and walked three. Mark Brackman followed with two innings, giving up two hits. He struck out two and walked one. Luis Gil pitched the eighth, giving up one hit and striking out two.

Jeff Kaplan (3-2) earned the victory for Brooklyn, pitching 4 2/3 innings of scoreless ball in relief of starter Pedro P. Martinez. Kaplan gave up one hit and struck out three. Jimmy Johnson then pitched 2/3 of an inning and Yury Santana earned his 11th save by pitching 1/3 of an inning, striking out Luis Arlet to end the game.

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Marcus Jones hit a two-run triple to highlight a three-run seventh inning as Vermont rallied for a 5-3 New York-Penn League victory over the Oneonta Tigers in the opening game of a doubleheader Monday night.

Each game was scheduled for seven innings. The second game was not completed by press time.

Oneonta (29-39) has lost five of its past six games.

The Tigers and Vermont finish their three-game series at 7 tonight. Lowell then comes to town for a two-game set beginning at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Oneonta ends the season with two games at Vermont on Friday and Saturday.

The Tigers, with a .426 winning percentage, are in danger of having the worst record the Oneonta franchise has had since becoming affiliated with Detroit in 1999. The 2004 team, managed by Mike Rojas, finished 33-41 (.446) and the 2000 team, managed by Gary Green, went 35-41 (.461). Besides those seasons, the O-Tigers have finished above .500 in every other year.

Vermont (30-39), which took over second place in the Stedler Division with the victory, trailed, 3-2, entering the seventh inning. O-Tigers reliever Jared Gayhart replaced Santo Mieses and walked James Keithley, who went to second on a wild pitch.

Yhonson Lopez then walked and pinch-hitter Dani Arias moved the runners over with a sacrifice bunt. Jones followed with his triple to center to score Keithley and Lopez. After Jake Smolinski and Danny Espinosa each walked to load the bases, Steve Gilman came in to replace Gayhart.

Jones scored on a sacrifice fly by Derek Norris before Gilman struck out Steven Souza swinging to end the inning.

Brad Peacock (4-6) allowed three runs on seven hits over seven innings to earn the victory. He struck out four and walked two.

Trevor Feeney allowed two runs on two hits over five innings for Oneonta. He struck out five and walked three. Mieses pitched a scoreless sixth with two strikeouts and a walk, but Gayhart (0-1) blew his first save in the sixth.

Gayhart was making his second appearance for the O-Tigers.

The Lake Monsters took a 2-0 lead in the fourth when Keithley reached on a fielding error by third baseman Bryan Pounds, allowing Espinosa and Souza to score.

The Tigers got one back in the bottom of the inning on an RBI double from Wade Lamont.

Oneonta took the lead in the sixth. Brent Wyatt led off with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Ben Guez. Mike Gosse singled to left, scoring Wyatt to tie the score at 2.

Gosse went to second when Nowlin grounded out to second and Wade Lamont was intentionally walked. Hayden Parrott followed with a single to center, scoring Gosse to make it 3-2.

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Mitch Dening scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning Saturday as host Lowell rallied for a 5-4 New York-Penn League victory over the Tigers to clinch its first Stedler Division title in its 13-year history.

Lowell eliminated the Tigers from playoff contention with the victory, but Oneonta rebounded with a 5-0 win Sunday to earn a split in their two-game series.

The Tigers had little chance to earn the Stedler crown as they entered Saturday's game 8 1/2 games back with nine games remaining. Lowell started the series with an 8 1/2 game lead and eight games left. Therefore, Oneonta could do no better than tie Lowell for the division title, but only if the Tigers won all nine of their remaining games and the Spinners lost all eight of theirs.

Talk of an O-Tigers' playoff berth ended, though, in the last of the ninth Saturday. Oneonta took a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the inning in front of 5,030 fans at LeLacheur Park.

O-Tigers closer Tyler Stohr got Ronald Bermudez to ground out to short, but Derrik Gibson followed with a walk and stole second. Casey Kelly then singled to center, scoring Gibson to make it 4-3.

Dening followed with an RBI double to left that tied it and stole third. Stohr intentionally walked Peter Hissey to set up a potential double play, but he threw a wild pitch to Tim Federowicz that allowed Dening to score the winning run.

Stohr (0-1) blew his third save in 15 chances this season.

Lowell opened the scoring in the first on an RBI single by Ricardo Burgos. The Spinners made it 2-0 in the second, when Bermudez led off with a triple and scored on a wild pitch from Mark Sorensen.

The Tigers rallied in the sixth with three runs. Mike Gosse singled to center and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Ben Guez. After Carlos Ramirez struck out swinging, Billy Nowlin reached on a fielding error by third baseman Will Middlebrooks, moving Gosse to third.

Hayden Parrott followed with his third home run of the season, a three-run shot to left to make it 3-2.

The O-Tigers made it 4-2 in the eighth. With one out, Parrott was hit by a pitch and moved to second when Bryan Pounds singled to left. After Joe Bowen flied out to right to move Parrott to third, Luis Arlet doubled to center for a 4-2 lead.

Oneonta missed out on a big scoring chance in the ninth. Guez had a one-out triple, but Ramirez grounded out to first and Nowlin flied out to right. Guez and Pounds had two hits apiece to lead Oneonta.

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In a game that mirrored Oneonta's New York-Penn League season, the Tigers had a chance midway through the second game of a doubleheader Monday before fading late.

Vermont scored five times over the final two innings to beat host Oneonta, 7-3, and sweep the doubleheader. The Lake Monsters won the first game, 5-3.

Mike Gosse hit a sacrifice fly and Carlos Ramirez had an RBI single during Oneonta's two-run fifth as the Tigers took a 3-2 lead.

Vermont answered with two runs in the sixth off losing pitcher Mark Brackman (4-3). Steven Souza walked to lead off and stole second, then scored on a two-out single by Jake Dugger. After Dugger stole second, Jake Smolinski's RBI single made it 4-3.

The Lake Monsters scored three off Luis Gil in the seventh. Derek Norris and Michael Guerrero had RBI singles in the inning.

The doubleheader sweep left Oneonta's record at 29-40 _ 11-23 since July 25. The Tigers were tied with Lowell atop the Stedler Division after a 1-0 victory at home against Tri-City on July 25. At that time, Oneonta's record stood at 18-17. Brent Wyatt had two of Oneonta's six hits.

Tuesday's game was not completed by press time. Oneonta hosts Lowell tonight.

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Billy Nowlin went 3-for-5, including his team-leading sixth home run of the season, to lead the Oneonta Tigers to a 14-6 New York-Penn League victory over the visiting Lowell Spinners on Wednesday.

Nowlin also had five RBIs before 1,217 fans at Damaschke Field.

The O-Tigers (31-40) close their home schedule at 7 tonight against the Spinners.

Brandon Douglas and Hayden Parrott also had three hits apiece for the O-Tigers, who had 15 hits off four Lowell pitchers.

Darwin DeLeon (6-3) earned the victory. He allowed four runs on nine hits over five innings, striking seven and walking one.

Steven Gillman, Jared Gayhart and Tyler Stohr did not allow an earned run over the final four innings for the O-Tigers. Oneonta

pitchers combined for 15 strikeouts.

Nowlin's homer came on a two-run shot in the eighth inning to cap the scoring.

Trailing 4-2 in the third inning, Oneonta scored three times to take the lead for keeps. Four wild pitches and hit batsman contributed Oneonta's big inning.

TUESDAY

O-Tigers 2, Vermont 1

Mike Gosse's two-out, bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the 13th inning gave the host Tigers a victory over Vermont.

Hayden Parrott opened the 13th with a single to center off Yeurys Tejeda (1-0). Parrott went to second on a sacrifice bunt from Joe Bowen and to third on a single by Bryan Pounds. After Pounds went to second on a defensive indifference, Brent Wyatt popped out to short for the second out. Brandon Douglas was then hit by a pitch to load the bases.

Gosse followed with the walk to give Oneonta the win.

Santo Mieses (1-0) pitched the 13th to earn the victory. He allowed one hit and struck out one. Starter David Stokes gave up one run on five hits over five innings. He struck out four and walked two.

Parrott had four hits to lead the O-Tigers, who had an 11-7 advantage in hits, but left 17 runners on base.

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As long as Major League Baseball approves the sale of the Oneonta Tigers, the team played its final home game under owner Sam Nader and vice president Sid Levine on Thursday night, a 3-2 New York-Penn League loss to the Lowell Spinners in front of 387 fans at Damaschke Field.

Nader and Levine announced the sale July 1 and the NY-Penn approved the deal Aug. 18. New York City lawyer E. Miles Prentice, the face of the new owners, said Aug. 19 that Minor League Baseball also approved the sale. The deal needs only the approval of Major League Baseball to pass, a process that is expected to take at least 30 days.

Nader, 89, and Levine, 95, were present Thursday and each addressed the crowd during the middle of the fourth inning.

The only living members of the original 10-person Oneonta Athletic Corporation, Nader and Levine sold the remaining stocks to Prentice's group. Prentice has pledged to keep the team in Oneonta at least through 2010, when the team's contract with Detroit expires.

The O-Tigers (31-41) couldn't send Nader and Levine out with a win, however.

Peter Hissey's RBI single with one out in the top of the ninth capped a two-run inning as the Spinners (40-32) rallied from a 2-1 deficit to earn the victory. Lowell, which clinched its first Stedler Division title with a victory over Oneonta on Saturday, won the season series, six games to four.

Oneonta finishes the season on the road with a two-game set at Vermont beginning at 7 tonight. If the O-Tigers lose one of those games, they'll finish with their worst record since the franchise became affiliated with Detroit in 1999. The Tigers went 33-41 in 2004, meaning at best (with two wins), they can only tie the franchise's worst mark.

Nicholas Cassavechia pitched the ninth for the Tigers on Thursday and walked Tim Federowicz to start the inning. Federowicz then stole second and took third on a throwing error by catcher Joe Bowen.

After Will Middlebrooks struck out swinging, Kade Keowen singled to left, scoring Federowicz to tie the score at 2. Derrick Gibson then singled to put runners on first and second. Hissey then singled to left to snap the tie as Keowen scored.

Cassavechia got Zach Gentile to bounce into a 1-5-3 double play to end the inning.

Bowen walked to open the bottom of the ninth for Oneonta and went to second on a sacrifice bunt from Eric Harryman. However, Robert Romero earned his second save by striking out Luis Arlet and Brent Wyatt to end the game.

Oneonta opened the scoring in the bottom of the first.

Wyatt led off with a single before Brandon Douglas flied out to right. Ben Guez then reached on a fielding error by second baseman Jonathan Hee and Billy Nowlin was hit by a pitch to load the bases.

After Carlos Ramirez struck out swinging, Bryan Pounds hit a two-run single to center for a 2-0 lead.